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Habitat degradation is a major threat to the survival of chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii). Detailed knowledge for habitat conservation in this steppe-dwelling ungulate is needed if effective conservation and management strategies are to be developed. The distribution of potential habitat and the relative value of habitat to chiru on a regional scale remains unknown, hindering landscape conservation planning. Our aim was to identify and rank chiru habitat across the Chang Tang region of the Tibetan Plateau. We assessed overall habitat suitability using geographical data, field surveys, and information contained within previous studies. We identified 10194 km2 of optimal habitat (1.71 % of the region), 256816 km2 of suitable habitat (43.17 % of the region), and 213799 km2 of marginal habitat (35.94 % of the region). Our habitat model shows that suitable habitat is located primarily in the central (Nyingma county and Shuanghu county) and western (Geze county) regions of the study area. When we looked specifically at a chiru reserve (Chang Tang Nature Reserve) located within the study area, we found that over half of the reserve could be classified as suitable habitat. This highlights the regional importance of this reserve to chiru conservation. Our findings further indicate that the protection of suitable habitat and improvement of habitat linkages will be important features of any regional chiru conservation plan.

Background Polyomaviruses infect a wide variety of mammalian and avian hosts with a broad spectrum of outcomes including asymptomatic infection, acute systemic disease, and tumor induction. Methods Viral metagenomics and general PCR methods were used to detected viral nucleic acid in the samples from a diseased and healthy giant pandas. Results A novel polyomavirus, the giant panda polyomavirus 1 (GPPyV1) from the nasal cavity of a dead giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) was characterized. The GPPyV1 genome is 5144 bp in size and reveals five putative open-reading frames coding for the classic small and large T antigens in the early region, and the VP1, VP2 and VP3 capsid proteins in the late region. Phylogenetic analyses of the large T antigen of the GPPyV1 indicated GPPyV1 belonged to a putative new species within genus Deltapolyomavirus, clustering with four human polyomavirus species. The GPPyV1 VP1 and VP2 clustered with genus Alphapolyomavirus. Our epidemiologic study indicated that this novel polyomavirus was also detected in nasal swabs and fecal samples collected from captive healthy giant pandas. Conclusion A novel polyomavirus was detected in giant pandas and its complete genome was characterized, which may cause latency infection in giant pandas.

The creation of nature reserves is the most direct way to save endangered species populations and their habitat. Development of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) nature reserve network in China was initiated in the 1960s, though the effort to create new reserves boomed considerably after the year 2000. Given this rapid development of protected areas in panda habitats, and the potential conflicting interests between conservation administrations and local economic development, it is essential to assess the role of new nature reserves in the overall giant panda conservation effort and reserve network. We utilized data from national giant panda surveys conducted in 2000 and 2012 to compare the size, spatial use, and distribution of panda populations, as well as the habitat suitability and connectivity in the Northern Qionglai Mountains between the two survey years. Our results show that although the total giant panda population in the study area did not change remarkably, local changes did occur. Most notably, the population in Wolong Nature Reserve declined by 27.3% (N = 39) and the population in Caopo Nature Reserve increased by 71.4% (N = 29) over the 12-year study period. We also found habitat suitability and availability decreased in both Wolong (12.4%) and Caopo (7.4%), but that the relative density of giant pandas declined (19.2%) and increased (84.6%) at each site, respectively. The distance between centers of high IUA were more distant in 2012 (14.1±1.9km) than that in 2000 (6.1±0.9km; t = -7.4, df = 5, p = 0.001), showing a scattered spatial pattern. Habitat availability decreased by 42% within the corridor between the two reserves, however panda occurrences in the corridor increased 24.6%. Compared to the total number of encounters, the proportion of the corridor increased 45.76%. Our results show the importance and success of the newly established Caopo to the conservation of giant pandas, and how crucial it is to identify and repair reserve corridors. Furthermore, we propose criteria for future nature reserve network management and investment, which is applicable for other endangered species conservation practices.